São Paulo leads the Entrepreneurial Cities Index

The municipality of São Paulo leads the list of cities that present better conditions for entrepreneurship, according to the ranking of the Entrepreneurial Cities Index (ICE) for the period 2022/2023.

According to the survey, the cities that rose the most in the ranking were Brasília, which rose from 69th to 4th place; Boa Vista (RR), which rose from 47th to 6th; and Aparecida de Goiânia (GO), from 65th to 35th.

Produced by the National School of Public Administration (Enap), the report covers the 101 most populous municipalities in Brazil, “organized according to the best conditions for undertaking”.

The second position in ranking It is generally occupied by Florianópolis (SC), followed by Joinville (SC). Following, after Brasilia, are Niterói (RJ), Boa Vista, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, Macapá and Goiânia.

“These are the cities with the best conditions for entrepreneurship, based on seven determining factors for successful businesses: regulatory environment, infrastructure, market, access to capital, innovation, human capital and entrepreneurial culture”, justified the researchers .

Highlights

The highlight in terms of growth of the capital of the Republic in this ranking is mainly due, according to the study, “to the improvements registered in the regulatory environment (reduction of the internal rate of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) and bureaucratic simplification (reduction of time spent with processes), issues that directly affect the capacity entrepreneurs to open and maintain their businesses, as well as to make them profitable”.

Brasilia continues to occupy a prominent position (3rd place) in terms of infrastructure, “especially because it has good transport connections with other cities, states and countries”, added the report.

Boa Vista’s position gain is due, in particular, to the “entrepreneurial culture” item, described as “the interest of people and institutions in the municipality for entrepreneurship.”

“The highlight of the capital of Roraima is associated with aspects related to the initiative to become an entrepreneur and engagement in the main institutions that support entrepreneurship such as Sebrae, Simples Nacional and Senac. Progress has also been made in the area of ​​innovation. In this case, driven by the creative economy and the expansion of information and communication technology companies”, detailed the report.

According to the study, Aparecida de Goiânia was “the interior city with the highest rise in the ICE 2023. The main reasons were the improvement in the regulatory environment and in the entrepreneurial culture”, detailed the research when informing that there was, in the municipality, “a reduction in time process, reduction of the congestion rate in courts, expansion of tax simplicity and greater interest of the local population in entrepreneurship”.

According to the National School of Public Administration, Aparecida de Goiânia gained positions in the market due to the evolution in the average real growth indicator of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the sum of all wealth produced in the country.

Regulatory Environment

In terms of Regulatory Environment, Goiânia was chosen as the best city for entrepreneurs, with low tax rates. “It is where less time is spent on bureaucratic issues (legal and procedural), essential to the creation and execution of the business”, said the report, referring to the capital of Goiás which, in this regard, advanced from the 19th position to the first in 2023. Second place was Joinville, followed by Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis and Niterói.

São Paulo and Limeira (SP) lead the ranking of “the best infrastructures for the development of entrepreneurship”. According to the survey, they stood out for having transport networks (by land, sea or air) and urban conditions that were more adequate and favorable to business development.

In third place is Brasília, followed by Ponta Grossa (PR), Santos (SP), Guarujá (SP), Guarulhos (SP), Porto Alegre (RS), Piracicaba (SP) and Campinas.

“The urban conditions and costs of each city [custo do metro quadrado dos imóveis; acesso à internet rápida ou a segurança urbana, por exemplo] are fundamental for the entrepreneur’s decision to open or not a business in the region”, as explained by the researchers responsible for ICE 2023.

Market

The cities that presented “better economic development and more potential customers”, in the ranking In terms of market, they were Niterói, Jundiaí (SP) and Brasília.

Niterói was the city that recorded the highest real GDP growth in the period, in addition to having the fourth best Municipal Human Development Index (HDI-M). The city, recalls the study, has an oil industry “which has benefited from successive increases in the price of a barrel, as well as the exchange rate of the dollar”.

As for Access to the Capital, something that greatly favors business, the best ranked cities were São Paulo, Osasco (SP), Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro. On this issue, the researchers explained that there is “evidence” that the “ease of obtaining financial resources” is one of the “main reasons for entrepreneurs to take risks in new opportunities”.

“It is a component that is also capable of protecting the business from market shocks and the effects of risks and uncertainties”, said the director of Altos Estudos at Enap, Alexandre Gomide.

Innovation and Human Capital

Florianópolis, Limeira and Campina Grande were cited as “places with more conditions for creating businesses with the potential to generate innovations”, a question that covers characteristics such as “concentration of talent in the local labor market, financing of innovation actions and technological infrastructure” . Innovative entrepreneurs are also associated with the identification of new products, processes and markets.

The importance of human capital – another point analyzed by the study – for development has gained ground in economic analyses. The leadership in this ranking, which assesses both quality access to basic and specialized labor, is occupied by Florianópolis, followed by Vitória, Santa Maria (RS) and Porto Alegre.

The survey cited studies indicating that greater abundance of human capital in cities can positively impact entrepreneurship in three ways. The first, by increasing the chance of success in companies, since “it is more likely that the entrepreneur is more capable in managing the business.”

In addition, human capital favors the allocation of resources and the coordination of activities more efficiently. Finally, “expanding the networks of social relationships that are organized in the development of entrepreneurship”.

entrepreneurial culture

The city most engaged in entrepreneurial activities, a question based on the search for information about entrepreneurship and local companies, which includes “knowledge about the processes of opening a business”, was Boa Vista (RR).

“One of the search topics taken into account in the survey was female entrepreneurship, because we know the importance of women for economic, social and sustainable development”, explained Enap’s deputy general coordinator for Research, Kamyle Medina. The survey uses the search tool as a database Google Trends over the past five years.

second place in this ranking stayed with Macapá (AP). Afterwards, Palmas (TO), Brasília, Maceió, Rio Branco (AC), Ananindeua (PA) and Porto Velho (RO) appear.